Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World

In Icebound, author Andrea Pitzer recounts Dutch polar explorer William Barents’ harrowing Arctic expeditions, culminating in a year-long fight for survival against unforgiving ice and ravenous polar bears. Combining a gripping survival tale with a sweeping history of the Age of Exploration, Pitzer masterfully explores Barents’ ambitious quest to chart the Arctic’s deepest regions. Through extensive research, including learning to use four-hundred-year-old navigation equipment and retracing Barents’ steps, Pitzer delves into human ingenuity, resilience, and hope. The book offers insights into survival at twenty degrees below, mutiny, celestial navigation, and shelter-building, and providing a glimpse into true courage.